According to Wikipedia (not sure if it can be verified elsewhere):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formul...–present
Quote:
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Adrian Newey stated during the 2011 European Grand Prix that the change to a V6 enables teams to carry the engine as a stressed member, whereas an inline 4 would have required a space frame.
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Presumably this would also apply to an I6 as well.
That being said, it occurred to me while reading this thread, BMW happens to have an I6 that displaces 1.6L, just like an F1 V6 does:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_K1600#Technology
According to the wiki entry, it is the most compact I6 ever produced. Of course with a cylinder spacing of just 77mm, it would not be able to accommodate the as-big-as 80mm bores the F1 V6 engines use. So, it couldn't achieve as short as stroke as they do either (without decreasing displacement), and thus could not be made to rev as high as they do, and probably therefore couldn't make as much power.
Still, I thought it was sort of interesting that BMW's motorcycle engine gives us a glimpse into what an F1 I6 might actually look like if it existed.
